


A Furry Friend

by hannahhoppers



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Ficlet, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-01
Updated: 2016-08-01
Packaged: 2018-07-28 15:08:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7646017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hannahhoppers/pseuds/hannahhoppers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My pet tarantula scared the living daylights out of the hot guy in the apartment below me who is deathly afraid of spiders.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Furry Friend

**Author's Note:**

> Based (sort of successfully) on the prompt "My pet tarantula escaped and I forgot to warn the guy below me who is scared of spiders."
> 
> I don't own the show or the characters, so I'm playing with them. Adam and Eddy have such nice toys. Unbeta'd. Kudos and comments if you enjoy!

Killian Jones was terrified of spiders. Since he was a little boy, growing up in a shady neighborhood with no friends, no parents- only his brother, arachnids were his greatest fear. A fear greater than loneliness or public speaking or even death. 

 

When he saw a gigantic, hairy tarantula crawling happily along his windowsill, the first thing he did was pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t having a nightmare. The second thing he did was scream, and the third was to scramble out of his bedroom and onto the coffee table in his apartment’s living room. He was still there, 20 minutes later, trying to figure out how to remove _the thing_ from his room, when a knock sounded on the door. 

 

“It’s unlocked,” he called out, panic-stricken at the thought of leaving his safe wooden island and facing the hairy bug which was God knows where.

 

The pretty blonde he’d had his eye on since he moved in turned the knob and stepped inside. She had an expiatory look on her face, mouth halfway open to say something when she changed her mind and asked, instead,

 

“Why are you sitting on your coffee table?”

 

“You see, love, there is a very large, very hairy tarantula who has taken it upon him or herself to explore my humble abode, and I happen to be deathly afraid of spiders.” Her expression melted into one of relief. 

 

“You found Henry!”

 

“Henry?”

 

“My, uh, pet tarantula. He escaped last night before I got home from work,” she explained, and if he wasn’t mistaken, a spot of shyness seemed to have overtaken her. “Sorry if he scared the living crap out of you.” He couldn’t hold back a chuckle. 

 

“No worries, lass. Although, I have to ask- why a pet spider? You seem more like a dog person to me.” She shrugged. 

 

“I’m not really sure. I had stopped at the pet store to pick up a bag of food for my friend’s cat and couldn’t help but bring home a little friend.” She smirked. “Plus, it’s always fun seeing people’s expressions when they see a picture or whatever of me cuddling a tarantula.”

 

“I see. Well, if you’d like, we can track down the little bugger. Or if you’d rather something else…” his eyes darted towards the closed door straight to their left. Her apartment was directly above him, and by the raise of her eyebrows he could tell that the layouts were likely the same. She knew exactly what that glance implied. 

 

“How many other women have you used that line on?”

 

“Only the pretty blondes who come in here looking for misplaced arachnids.” He watched as she snapped her eyelids shut, her fists furling and unfurling for five seconds before her eyes opened again and gave him a look that very clearly said _no funny business or you’re getting decked_.

 

“Can I just collect my spider and leave?”

 

“As you wish, love. Alas, I have no idea where said spider is at the moment. Shall we begin the search?” She nodded, lips pressed tightly together, and he climbed off the coffee table to help her look for her pet. She searched in quiet, prompting him to blurt out,

 

“You know, most men take your silence as off-putting, but I love a challenge.”

 

“I’m concentrating,” she said, kneeling on the floor to check under the oven. 

 

“No. You’re afraid to talk. To reveal yourself. To _trust_ me.”

 

“Oh, really?” He hummed in the affirmative.

 

“You’re down here, tossing a stranger’s flat, looking for your pet.”

 

“I wonder what could possibly have given that away,” she mumbled, standing again and moving to check the spaces between the appliances and the walls. 

 

“But it’s because this spider is the only constant in your life. Your life has been quite lacking in stability, hasn’t it?” She turned to him.

 

“How could you know that?”

 

“When I was young, I was abandoned. My brother raised me for several years but was killed in a nasty incident in a bad part of town. I was put in foster care for most of my teenaged years- most of the other children there had the same look you have in your eyes. They were always afraid that they’d be taken away, put in some new placement without notice.”

 

“I’m not a kid. I’ve got a job and an apartment and a spider. I’ve got stability.” Defensiveness was in her voice- she was putting up a front.

 

“Aye, but that fear stays with you, doesn’t it? Never leaves.” Her brow furrowed and her top teeth scraped against her bottom lip. The look in her eyes suggested she was settling into some sort of reverie when he snapped her out of it, exclaiming “There!” and pointing to the furry, black and orange arthropod which was creeping along the floor. 

 

“Henry!” She shouted, bending down and picking up her pet. “Thanks for helping to find him.”

 

“No worries, erm…”

 

“Emma.”

 

“No worries, Emma.” She started walking towards the door, spider cuddled against her.

 

“Sorry he scared the crap out of you earlier.”

 

“As I said. It’s no trouble, love.”

 

“So, um… see you around?”

 

“Yeah,” he nodded, a smile on his lips. “See you around.” She turned and exited his apartment, heading for the elevator back to their own. Maybe spiders weren’t so bad, after all.


End file.
